gene
Meanings
Plural: genes
Noun
- (genetics) a segment of DNA that is involved in producing a polypeptide chain; it can include regions preceding and following the coding DNA as well as introns between the exons; it is considered a unit of heredity
- "genes were formerly called factors"
- A theoretical unit of heredity of living organisms which may take several values and (in principle) predetermines a precise trait of an organism's form (phenotype), such as hair color.
- A segment of DNA or RNA from a cell's or an organism's genome, that may take several forms and thus parameterizes a phenomenon, such as (often) the structure of a protein.
Origin / Etymology
From German Gen, from Ancient Greek γενεά (geneá, “generation, descent”), from the aorist infinitive of γίγνομαι (gígnomai, “I come into being”). Coined by Danish botanist Wilhelm Ludwig Johannsen in 1909, in a German-language publication, from the last syllable of pangene.
Scrabble Score: 5
gene is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL wordgene is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
gene is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary
Words With Friends Score: 7
gene is a valid Words With Friends word